A-Rod, Yankees agree to terms on $275M deal

Alex Rodriguez might not have snagged the $300 million he was looking for on the open market, but the Yankees have agreed to give the superstar third baseman the biggest contract in sports history.

A-Rod and the Yankees have agreed to terms on a 10-year, $275 million contract, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. That would eclipse the 10-year, $252 million pact Rodriguez signed with the Rangers after the 2000 season - the same contract A-Rod opted out of during Game 4 of last month's World Series.

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The deal is not yet official, as contract language must still be finalized, but the biggest hurdle has now been cleared to keep the two-time (soon to be three-time) American League MVP in pinstripes through the age of 42.

A Yankees source added that Boras had "nothing to do with the financial part of the negotiations. That was all A-Rod." Boras is expected to get involved as the papers are drawn up and the deal is made official. The Yankees aren't expected to announce the signing until the middle of next week.

The contract will include incentives connected to A-Rod's expected pursuit of Barry Bonds' all-time home run record. Rodriguez hit his 500th home run on Aug. 4 at the age of 32, becoming the youngest player to reach that milestone. A-Rod finished the season with 54 homers, giving him 518 for his career.

As first reported Wednesday by the Daily News, the two sides have been talking for the past few days after A-Rod reached out to the Yankees through a pair of third-party intermediaries.

Those intermediaries were two employees of Goldman Sachs, the investment banking giant that owns a piece of the YES Network.

According to sources, A-Rod first contacted John Mallory, a Los Angeles-based managing director with Goldman Sachs who has a friendship with Rodriguez through Miami circles, looking for advice to jump-start negotiations with the Steinbrenner family.

Mallory then directed Rodriguez to Gerald Cardinale, a Goldman Sachs managing director and YES board member who is the point man for the firm's relationship with the Yankees.

Rodriguez's decision to reach out to the Yankees came roughly a week after his opt-out announcement made him a villain throughout the sports world, as the backlash against him and his agent, Scott Boras, was much harsher than he believed it would be.

Knowing the relationship between Goldman Sachs and the Yankees, Rodriguez decided that Mallory might be his best bet to get in touch directly with the Steinbrenners, prompting him to put the wheels in motion for a reconciliation.

He informed Mallory that he wanted to be a Yankee, that his wife, Cynthia, was behind that decision and any way they could achieve that goal would be satisfactory to them. Cardinale reached out to team president Randy Levine, who in turn relayed Rodriguez's message to Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, setting the stage for the unlikely reunion that has rounded into shape over the past 48-72 hours.

It is unclear how involved George Steinbrenner has been in the process, but it is apparent that his two sons are running the operation on a day-to-day basis.

The Boss' first experience with Goldman Sachs came back in the early 1970s when he bought the Yankees at a time when very few people in the financial world would even take Steinbrenner's call. Gus Levy, a Goldman Sachs senior partner at the time, not only took his call, but took him to lunch, leaving a good impression with Steinbrenner that he never forgot.

A-Rod and Cynthia met with Hank and Hal Steinbrenner on Wednesday, a meeting also attended by Levine and GM Brian Cashman.